Scientists Are Starting to Understand the Real Dangers of Vaping

It’s hard, even in places that have banned cigarettes, to make it through a meal or a movie without a fruity-smelling cloud emanating from somewhere in the room. Have you noticed that?

And it’s very hard to convince anyone who loves vaping (or is addicted) that they should be more cautious with a technology that’s too new to have been thoroughly studied by health professionals in the field.

Smoking during the teen years is especially harmful to a still-growing brain – studies have previously shown that if a person can hold off smoking until they’re in their 20s, the chances of getting addicted reduce drastically. And while fewer teens than ever are trying traditional cigarettes, a disturbingly high – and growing – number of kids are vaping.

“Nicotine mimics the chemicals that brain cells use to communicate with each other and causes the brain to reconfigure itself. The nicotine molecule is shaped a lot like acetylcholine, which the nervous system uses to communicate, so it fakes out and overstimulates the nervous system. This rewiring of the brain is bad for adults, but it’s especially bad for young people because until around age 26, the brain is still developing. When you start messing up normal communication between nerves as the system is still being built, the adaptations are a lot more permanent.”

21% of high schoolers report using e-cigarettes. In 2011, that number was only 1.5%.

4.9% of middle schoolers are vaping, up from just .6% in 2011.

So, the problem is not only growing at an alarming rate, but levels of kids who are addicted to nicotine are reaching levels that should concern everyone, says Dr. Stanton Glantz.

“Our understanding of e-cigarettes is still accumulating, but at this point, we are pretty confident that e-cigarettes are at least two-thirds to three-fourths as bad as cigarettes. And remember, cigarettes are pretty horrible. Vaping is like, instead of jumping out the 40th story of a building, you’re jumping out of the 30th story.”

We’re starting to see evidence of this showing up in the news from around the country, too.

This summer, 8 Wisconsin teens were hospitalized with serious lung damage – some of whom found themselves on ventilators in the ICU – due to their vaping habits. A few weeks later, 4 Minnesota kids spent weeks in the hospital battling vaping-related lung troubles, after which the state’s public health department issued an official warning against the use of e-cigs.

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Then, an 18-year-old Florida student’s lung collapsed after regular JUUL use, and the FDA reports that they’ve received 127 reports of seizures and other neurological symptoms also related to vaping over the past 10 years. And there has now officially been a death caused by lung illness linked to vaping.

None of these types of issues were seen with traditional cigarettes – so what’s different about vaporized nicotine?

Cigarettes contain 69 known carcinogens, but the juice needed to get a nicotine buzz from an e-cig isn’t harmless – it also contains an assortment of chemicals that go straight into your lungs (and then into the air) that scientists are starting to realize can be as harmful (if not more).

The fact that kids are getting “nic sick” – experiencing nausea, headaches, lightheadedness, and vomiting, none of which was a side effect of traditional cigarettes – seems to point to the fact that the nicotine in e-cigs is ultra concentrated.

Stantz explains how and why these findings are possible – and super concerning.

“Free-base nicotine, which you get in a cigarette and an older-generation e-cigarette, is very alkaline and hard to inhale, so it triggers a gag reflex, which limits the amount of nicotine per puff. Juul transitioned to nicotine salt and added some acid to the e-liquid to make it less alkaline, as well as adding flavors. When you put all that together, it is much easier to inhale, so Juul devices deliver a much higher dose per puff.”

Setting aside the increased nicotine content there are more reasons that, even though they contain fewer known carcinogens than regular cigs, the e-cig vapor is just as dangerous.

“It consists of ultrafine particles that are about 100 times smaller than a human hair. These particles include acrolein and formaldehyde, as well as diacetyl, cinnamaldehyde, and other flavorants that are fine to eat but not to inhale as fine particles.”

In fact, Harvard researchers have discovered that diacetyl and its chemical cousin 2,3-pentanedione – found in 90 percent of e-cigarettes tested – do damage to the cilia lining the lungs and airways, which increases the risks of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

“E-cigarettes also include heavy metals like lead and silica. Their wicks often have silica, and when they wear out, you can get little particles of silica in the lungs, which is very harmful. Additionally, e-cigarettes disable normal functioning of macrophages, cells within the lungs that gobble up bacteria and other infectious agents we breathe in. When you disable them, you are more prone to infections.”

Like smoking old-school cigarettes, vaping also puts people at risk for cardiovascular issues, like heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes.

So, even though Glantz estimated that e-cigs are around 75% as harmful as smoking regular cigs, even he doesn’t think that number will stay the same as more research surfaces.

“With the data we should have about 3 or 4 years from now, I think we’ll find that e-cigarettes are equally as bad or worse in terms of overall health risks.”

Just say no, y’all, and if your kids are vaping or think it’s cool, please step in. It’s not harmless, and as with everything this big, bad world throws at your teen, it’s your job to help them mitigate as many risks as possible.

And vaping is a big one.

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Here Are Some Tweets About Spiderman Leaving the Marvel Cinematic Universe

You were probably as shell-shocked as the rest of us were to learn that Disney’s rift with Sony meant that Tom Holland’s Spiderman (arguably the best iteration) would be getting the boot.

In order to make everyone laugh (to keep from crying), the internet has come through with some pitch-perfect tweets and memes.

13. Meme perfection.

12. Basically.

11. A common enemy is a powerful thing.

10. It’s extra rough when you can’t even drink.

9. The web-rope isn’t that strong.

8. I mean, if Stan Lee said it…

7. Chump change.

6. Just do it.

5. You’d think they’d learn.

4. I can see it.

3. Kids, man.

2. I can’t.

1. This made me laugh so hard.

It doesn’t take the hurt away, but it does help a little bit!

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Velcro Wants People to Stop Using the Term “Velcro” so They Dropped a Music Video

Velcro was invented in the early 1940s, but after losing its patent in the 1970s, the market was flooded with other “hook and loop” fasteners that, while not Velcro brand, were quickly labeled as such by the public.

Basically, anything that sticks together without adhesive is Velcro, right? Maybe, but once a term becomes “genericized” in that manner, the original company loses its trademark. Legal resource UpCounsel refers to this process as Genericide, because the original company – Velcro, in this instance – would lose not only their trademark, but their ability to stop other companies from using trademarked branding on non-Velcro products. And, thus, they’ll probably lose a whole lot of sales.

In a last-ditch and hilariously original attempt to hold onto their trademark, Velcro has released a music video pretty much begging the public to help them out by saying “hook and loop” instead of their company name.

While the word f*ck isn’t bleeped in the video, the other brand names are, and the people at Velcro are quick to say that they’re not only doing this for themselves, but for every former brand name that fell victim to being so ubiquitous and popular that it eventually spelled their financial death.

“I know that bleeped stuff is more fun to say, but if you keep saying it, our trademark goes away.”

The video is entertaining, catchy, and quite smart – so please, enjoy.

And you know, maybe we could give them a break? Because if nothing else, this whole thing is sort of depressing in its desperation, is it not?

Is it too late? Are people ever going to abandon the word “velcro” for “hook and loop?”

If the people at Velcro have anything to say about it…still probably no, but at least they can say they didn’t go down without a (musical) fight.

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Meet the Real People Behind 5 Iconic Company Logos

There are images you’ve seen throughout your life repeatedly, but you probably haven’t given them any thought, right? The Gerber baby. The person on the POW/MIA flag.

These are all based on real people, so let’s meet the people behind the icons.

1. The Gerber baby

For a long time, nobody knew the identity of the Gerber baby. It turned out that the adorable little face belongs to Ann Turner Cook, a mystery novelist who is now 92 years old. Cook’s neighbor was artist Dorothy Hope Smith, who sketched her for Gerber.

2. POW/MIA flags

You’ve no doubt seen this flag countless times. Artist Newt Heisley used his son Jeffrey, who was 24 years old at the time, as his model. Jeffrey was home on leave from the Marine Corps officer candidate program and was suffering from hepatitis at the time. His father thought that with his close haircut and gaunt look he would make a good model for the iconic flag.

3. Columbia Pictures logo

28 year old Jenny Joseph modeling for Columbia Pictures’ logo. @doctorow Cool find. The artist who painted her was…

Posted by Boing Boing on Saturday, May 28, 2016

In 1992, Columbia hired Michael Deas to paint the company’s famous logo. Deas interviewed all kinds of models but couldn’t settle on one that he liked. A friend suggested Jenny Joseph, who wasn’t a model, but who instead worked as a graphic artist at The Times-Picayune of New Orleans. Deas found his muse, and it was the first and last time that Jenny Joseph ever modeled.

4. The NBA logo

Who could it be? My first guess was John Stockton, for some reason. But no, it’s actually Jerry West, known as “Mr. Clutch”, who played in the NBA for the Lakers from 1960-1974.

5. KFC

That lovable Colonel Sanders that we all recognize was actually a real person. Colonel Harland David Sanders (1890-1980) sold fried chicken out of his roadside restaurant in Kentucky during the Great Depression. He opened the first KFC franchise in Utah in 1952, and I think you know the rest of the story.

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A Project Turns Discarded Fishing Nets into Surfboards and Helps Reduce Ocean Pollution

As you already know, the ocean (and most of the rest of the planet) is slowly being poisoned by discarded plastics, and people all over the world are looking for ways to try to mitigate, ease, or even reverse the devastating effects that humans are wreaking on the marine environment.

The latest effort comes from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where fishermen are gathering discarded fishing nets to turn into surfboards.

The project is a collaboration between DSM, a nutrition and sustainable living corporation, and Thailand-based water sports company Starboard. DSM’s operations director explained to The Straits Times that they take the nets (often they are unusably broken) from the water, then clean, granulate, and transport them to their Indian factories to be reborn as ec0-friendly surfboards.

The nets are a big problem for both people and fish, in more ways than one.

The fish who don’t get caught in the nets often consume bits of them, and then as smaller fish are eaten by bigger ones, the plastics make their way up the food chain. The nets also tangle in boat propellors, damaging engines, and they can also strangle unsuspecting marine life, like turtles or cetaceans.

According to a DSM press release, experts estimate around 640,000 tons of trash nets remain in the ocean – 10% of all ocean plastic waste. Matt Gray, a commercial director at DSM, explained their mission in more detail.

“We look beyond society’s current model of take-make-dispose and instead try to mimic nature and the circle of life. By transforming the nets into fins, fin boxes, SUP pumps, and other parts of surfboards, the nets can return to the ocean in a much more environmentally conscious way.”

The effort is also supplying jobs for the local communities in India, which means the companies and the project are doing double the good.

Good on them. Now, let’s all find a way to do the same!

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Here’s Everything That’s Coming in Marvel’s Phase Four

Marvel fans, listen up!

The Marvel Universe is hotter than ever right now, and fans all across the globe are anxiously waiting to see what’s next from the studio.

The hugely successful Avengers: Endgame was the final piece of Marvel’s 22-film saga that started with Iron Man in 2008. Fans (more like fanatics) have been waiting to get some news…and here it is.

At the San Diego Comic-Con in July, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed what the first two years of Marvel’s Phase Four will look like.

Let’s take a look at the upcoming releases.

1. Black Widow

Photo Credit: Marvel

Release Date: May 1, 2020

2. The Eternals

Photo Credit: Marvel

Release Date: November 6, 2020

3. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Photo Credit: Marvel

Release Date: February 12, 2021

4. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Photo Credit: Marvel

Release Date: May 7, 2021

5. Thor: Love and Thunder

Photo Credit: Marvel

Release Date: November 5, 2021

6. Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3

Photo Credit: Marvel

Release Date: TBA

7. Black Panther 2

Photo Credit: Marvel

Release Date: TBA

8. Blade

Photo Credit: Marvel

Release Date: TBA

9. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Photo Credit: Marvel

Release Date: Fall 2020

10. Wanda Vision

Photo Credit: Marvel

Release Date: Spring 2021

11. Loki

Photo Credit: Marvel

Release Date: Spring 2021

12.What If…?

Photo Credit: Marvel

Release Date: Summer 2021

13. Hawkeye

Photo Credit: Marvel

Release Date: Fall 2021

14. Captain Marvel 2

Photo Credit: Marvel

Release Date: TBA

15. Fantastic Four

Photo Credit: Marvel

Release Date: TBA

These all have the potential to be GREAT. Even Fantastic Four, maybe.

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty excited.

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This Couple Rode Every Ride at Disney World – Without a Fast Pass

You’re probably asking yourself, ‘How did these two pull off this amazing feat?’ Well, we’re going to explain that to you right now.

If you’ve ever set foot on Disney World’s property, you know that you have to navigate a sea of humanity. It’s PACKED with people pretty much all the time.

But Shane Lindsay and Kristina Hawkins somehow managed to pull off the incredible achievement of riding all 46 rides at Disney World during a recent visit. And they did it all in 18 hours without FastPasses.

The couple knew the odds were against them, but they couldn’t resist. Lindsay started the Parkeology Challenge, a competition that calls for participants to ride every ride at the four Orlando theme parks (The Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom).

Lindsay and Hawkins documented their stop on every ride on Twitter. They began their quest in the Magic Kingdom at 7:51 a.m. on a Wednesday morning and completed their excellent adventure just before closing time at 2:00 a.m. on Thursday. They said their longest wait was an hour long for Animal Kingdom’s Flight of Passage.

The Parkeology Challenge was created in 2014 and since then only 6% of the 325 teams that have dared to try have completed the mission. Lindsay and Hawkins have completed the challenge before, but this was the first time they did it without a FastPass or a MagicBand, which allow you to skip over those neverending lines of people waiting to get onto rides.

Hawkins said of the experience and resulting viral attention, “It’s mostly just Disney street cred, I would say. It was almost like we broke the internet, the Disney internet, everyone was freaking out.”

Impressive! A job well done!

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10 Facts You Might Not Know About 1994’s ‘The Lion King’

And, as I’m sure most of you know, this summer saw a new remake version of the classic Disney film.

The original version of Disney’s The Lion King was released in theaters on June 15, 1994.

For the hardcore fans of the original, here are 10 facts about the 1994 version that you might not know.

1. Sean Connery was the first choice to play Mufasa.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

2. Tim Rice, who co-wrote the lyrics for the songs in The Lion King, wanted ABBA to be on the soundtrack. When they declined, he asked Elton John.

3. Can You Feel the Love Tonight was almost cut from the film because it didn’t fit the father-and-son theme of the film.

4. Disney wanted Patrick Stewart for the role of Zazu.

5. All the lion roars in the film were done by voice actor Frank Welker, who growled into a metal garbage can to get distinct sounds.

Photo Credit: Disney

6. Animators studied real lions for reference.

7. Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella originally auditioned for the roles of Banzai and Shenzi, hyenas in the film.

Photo Credit: Disney

8. The artist who animated adult Simba wanted to give him a mane that looked like Jon Bon Jovi’s…then Matthew Broderick was cast and the plan was nixed.

9. Rob Minkoff and Don Hahn, the director and producer of 1994’s version, say that Scar and Mufasa weren’t actually brothers.

Photo Credit: Disney

10. The first part of the movie, from when Simba wakes up Mufasa to when he runs away after Mufasa’s death, takes place over two days.

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Take a Look at These Commonly Used Words That Are Actually Acronyms

Did you know there are words in the English language (recognized by Webster) that were once acronyms? I suppose they could still be considered acronyms, but our lexicon has adopted them as pieces of vocabulary in their own right.

Here are a few interesting words that were once abbreviations.

5. L.A.S.E.R

Photo Credit: Pixabay

LASER stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. The first laser was invented in 1960, but had a different name: LOSER. The “O” stood for ocsillation, because a laser (light) is technically an optical oscillator not an optical amplifier. But as the acronym rapidly spread, oscillation was later replaced by amplification. For obvious reasons.

4. C.A.R.E. Packages

Photo Credit: Pixabay

CARE packages started in 1945 after the end of World War II. Care stood for the Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe, a group that started preparing packages filled with leftover “humanitarian aid to millions starving in post-war Europe.”

History.com explains, “These first ‘CARE Packages’ contained everything from whole-milk powder and liver loaf to margarine and coffee. The contents of CARE Packages soon expanded to include soap, diapers, school supplies, and medicine as well as fabric, thread, and needles to allow recipients to make and mend clothes.”

3. Navy S.E.A.L.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

The SEALs are a group of America’s toughest and most elite navy professionals. Their name stands for “SEa, Air, and Land”. This special operations force adopted the name “SEAL” because of their training and duties spanned “all environments (sea, air, and land)”.

2. S.C.U.B.A.

This well-known activity has been around since 1939. It was first used in military applications, but is now widely enjoyed by vacationers for entertainment, biologists for scientific research, and in many other circumstances. But it wasn’t coined “SCUBA” until 1952.

Wikipedia states, “In the U.S. Major Christian J. Lambertsen invented an underwater free-swimming oxygen rebreather in 1939. In 1952 he patented a modification of his apparatus, this time named SCUBA (an acronym for “self-contained underwater breathing apparatus“).

1. Z.I.P. Codes

As we all know, this term is used to help the post office designate what township or region a building or home location resides. It means Zone Improvement Plan Code.

The ZIP code “was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently and quickly (zipping along) when senders use the code in the postal address.”

Before ZIP codes’ inception, delivering mail was taxing. Robert Moon, a career postal employee, created the first codes, consisting of only 3 numbers that notated each central mail processing facility. It wasn’t until 1963 that the ZIP codes expanded to five numbers so as to have more combinations available to accurately reflect area.

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Ladies, Your Boobs Will Be Cool All Summer with These Freezable Bra Inserts

Ladies, listen up!

Can’t stand the summer heat mixed with boob sweat? Fret no more. There is a product out that will keep you cool and fresh even on the hottest days: Bra Coolers!

Forget about that gross line of perspiration that appears on your shirts, right under your bra line. And the best part is?

These Bra Coolers are made to fit all bra sizes! Yippee!

Photo Credit: Polar Products

A company called Polar Products, led by creator William Graessle, is revolutionizing the cooling garment game – it’s “a leading worldwide manufacturer of body cooling and hot/cold therapy products.”

Since the company’s inception in 1984, Graessle’s “cooling garments [have been] used worldwide to cool surgeons in hot operating rooms, workers in sweltering factory conditions, military personnel out in the field” and more. Those all sound like important uses for the technology, but let’s be real…boob sweat reduction is the future.

What are Bra Coolers?

Exactly as the name suggests, Bra Coolers are oval-shaped packs filled with a special cooling agent intended to be worn in your bra. Are you worried your nipples may freeze from contact? Nope! The cooling agent is set to stay at 58 degrees – just right.

They are made not to need a freezer around to chill them. Customers can use a refrigerator or even a cooler of ice water. Those hot days at a tailgate? No problem.

Each cooling pack maintains temperature for about two hours, depending on activity, breast size, and body metabolism.

What do they look like?

Photo Credit: Polar Products

Each order comes with four cooling packs and two cotton covers. The products are discrete enough to travel with, so you don’t have to worry about any undue embarrassment. So far Polar Products only has “light blue” covers available, but I suppose boob sweat doesn’t need fancy colors – leave that to your bras.

Since they come in a four-pack, you can keep an extra pair handy at home, at work (shhh…), or in a cooler on the way to an event.

Who would buy these?

Um? Every woman?

But if you need a more practical reason think pregnancy, PMS, menopause, or simply summer heat.

How much do Bra Coolers cost?

Don’t worry, you won’t need to sacrifice your first child or even your left breast. Bra Coolers are super affordable…like $37 and change, affordable. That breaks down to $18.50 per boob, which is a small price to pay for comfort.

So get your cooler packs now and go beat the summer heat.

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